Description
Submit a short paper or presentation identifying your chosen leader’s organizational vision, how your chosen leader developed the organization’s strategic direction, and what methods you would recommend that were not employed by the leader. Then, analyze evidence of the leader’s personal, political, and positional power, assessing how the leader used that power to structure the organization, thus creating its culture.
MBA 550 Final Project Part II Milestone Two Guidelines and Rubric
The milestone assignments will provide you with the opportunity to reflect on four organizational scenarios to demonstrate your understanding of leadership in organizational behavior. These assignments are designed to develop your skills in analyzing various organizational leadership situations dealing with skills assessment, team-building, vision and culture, problem-solving, and conflict management.
Prompt: For Milestone Two: Organizational Vision and Culture, you will submit a short paper or presentation identifying your chosen leader’s organizational vision, how your chosen leader developed the organization’s strategic plan, and what methods you would recommend for the strategic plan that were not
employed by the leader. Then, analyze evidence of the leader’s personal, political, and positional power, assessing how the leader used that power to structure the organization, thus creating its culture. Use the research on your chosen leader and the text to analyze best practices of how leaders structure the organization and build, plan, and staff effective executive teams for organizational success. Identify at least two examples of strategic planning methods used by the chosen leader to align teams with organizational vision and the appropriate tools and methods to develop the organization’s strategic plan. Analyze evidence of the leader’s use of personal, political, and positional power as tools to structure the organization for effecting change in organizational culture. Apply the
leader’s use of business strategies as personal, political, and power tools to effect change in organizational culture.
You will be evaluated on the identification and summary of your chosen leader’s organizational vision; examples and analysis of how your chosen leader
developed the organization’s strategic plan (methods); inclusion of your opinion and research on methods you would recommend for the strategic plan not chosen by the leader in his or her planning process; critical thinking applied to your work product; and the articulation of your response in the writing process.
Guidelines for Submission: Your homework must be in APA style. Include a separate title and reference page, an introduction, subheadings, and a conclusion. The requirements for this assignment are 2 to 4 pages in length (not including title and reference pages), double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font, one- inch margins, and at least two discipline-appropriate citations.
Critical Elements
Proficient (100%)
Needs Improvement (70%)
Not Evident (0%)
Value
Analysis of Leader’s Personal, Political, and Positional Power in Relation to Organizational Structure and Culture
Analyzes of chosen leader’s personal, political, and positional power through some detail to make informed conclusions
Performs some analysis of chosen leader’s personal,
political, and positional power through minimal detail to make informed conclusions
Does not explore factors associated with analysis of chosen leader’s personal,
political, and positional power through detail and does not
make informed conclusions
25
Zappos’ CEO Tony Hsier
Yahaira Flatts
Ashley J. Rivera
MBA-550-Q5894 Leading in an Organization
Southern New Hampshire University
July 17th ,2020
Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh
Leadership actions are crucial in the building and structuring of an organization. The effectiveness of these actions has led to the production of good results, building associations, developing others, and aided in proper decision making. Also, it is the action that the leader and his teams exhibit along with the results they produce that build a great leader’s reputation. It is through these actions that have made the Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh be a great leader. He used different leadership actions to build and structure Zappos, which led to the rise of Zappos from zero profit to multi-billion profit annually and has also improved the firm’s structure.
Leadership actions: Re-thinking hiring policy
In Zappos company, CEO Tony Hsieh utilized many actions to structure and create a productive organization and develop a culture. One was to re-think the hiring policy. When hiring, many leaders go for the right people who have the right credentials, but this alone is not good enough to assure that they are fit for the team. There is a need to also look at the individual qualities as this will help see the value in them in the team for a long time. Tony Hsieh utilized all this in his hiring policy as he needed team members who will share the goals of Zappos and strive hard to attain them. As the CEO of Zappos, he discussed the hiring policy in detail, depicting that the company’s goal was to hire individuals who trusted the company’s long-term vision. Also, they required to feel that the culture of Zappos was right for them to fit in.
Focus on the employees
Nevertheless, Tony Hsieh focuses on his employees first. Most corporates leaders like Tony Hsieh see their employees as their priority. They have found ways to motivate their teams and aid in bringing the best out of them, and this has set the best team culture examples. He has to ace up the sleeve with a good team, as this only reinforces the initial idea about hiring guidelines. It is of importance to let people know how much they are of significance at work. As Tony puts it succinctly, making consumers happy is vital to make sure that employees are happy first. He makes sure that he makes a note of every success they attain and appreciate them for it. He helps them get over something if they have failed by uplifting their spirits. The team members will be happy, and it will be shown in their work, and with their satisfaction, it has proved and ensured the success of Zappos.
Transition
Also, Tony Hsieh initiated a transition in the Zappos company. Initially, the company sold shoes, and they had to modify their brand identity and be a retailer shop for both men and women ”s clothing accessories. He advised his clients by telling them that if they do not face change, then their entire team was going to suffer. It is a natural part of today’s market as its demand is always changing, so it is essential to embrace transition (Waddock & McIntosh, 2017). Tony always encourages leaders to adapt and research their industry and admit that something they have executed is no longer working.
Development of office culture
Moreover, Tony Hsieh created a robust office culture while in Zappos. He strongly trusts in adding personality to an office culture while promoting a feeling of team harmony. By enhancing the company-wide camaraderie, he empowered his employees to take ownership of their role and the firm. This has improved their pride in the company and enhanced their quality of work and commitment (Bens, 2017). Also, Tony Hsieh communicates openly. He believes that transparency and open communication can not only facelift productivity but reengage the teams’ focus. Tony comprehends that transparency is crucial to his firm’s performance, and as a leader, one has to be open and trust his team as this will aid the team to do implementation better. He advocates for the breakdown of communication of barriers.
Self-improvement
Another action he uses is to improve himself daily. It is evident that the core values of Tony Hsieh center around self-improvement. He always develops himself as a leader and encourages his employees to overcome difficulties in better, quicker, and more effective ways. He is curious, always asking “why” query, and he makes sure that he continues to learn. The infrastructure of his firm offers excellent chances and skill creation to his employees to motivate them further. Tony Hsieh’s success is apparent. He has made transition since his joining in Zappos and promoted invention to the point that the retailer went from gaining zero profit to a billion annually. In 2000 it was bought by Amazon for $1.2 billion (Bens, 2017).
Best practices: Listening
There are best practices that leaders tend to exhibit to align their team with the company’s vision. One is listening to power. They listen more than they talk. Always leaders are guided by the phrase “seek first to comprehend the be comprehended.” They tend to listen and comprehend other people’s thoughts and concerns since they are natural connectors. Also, they know the difference between listening and waiting to talk. When talking to them, one gets the impression that they are listening and not waiting and thinking of a way to respond or their perspective. Their capability to listen actively makes people feel heard, respected, and facilitates improved decision-making (Bens, 2017). They listen to learn and be open to transitioning their minds on an issue whenever they obtain new information. Their focus is to do what is best for the firm. Listening is half of the communication equation.
Communication
Another instance of best practices is the increased communication throughout the times of transition. In times of change and uncertainty, leaders always have a natural inclination to communicate with their teams. However, leaders resist that urge and instead raise communications in the periods of transition. Nevertheless, the planning methods utilized by Tony Hsieh are following the firm’s goals and objectives. The workforce is the crucial aspect of planning efficient and profitable productivity, also the need to influence the expertise needed is vital in the firm, (Attaran, Attaran & Kirkland, 2019). The skills given to all the Zappos personnel primarily include the utilization of technology, physical infrastructure, and financial resources. Tony Hsieh raised the operating margins as the guideline to raise employee engagement with adaptable and executable goals and to deliver the visibility up and down the reporting levels in Zappos. Raising the employees’ profiles at all levels increases communication channels, which results in sharing inventive ideas across the firm. Fri with a significant figure of dissatisfied number always has a lower rate of productivity; thus, the workforce’s throughput was reduced. The alignment of the administration is also a technique utilized to ensure that company leaders should develop performance and cultural management in which they will recognize ratings regarding performance for the resources being invested in by the company. The primary goal of the administration alignment is to determine the ailing resources that cost the company huge funds, which can be replaced by new assets.
Consequently, there is an action that has fostered and built teamwork and team development at Zappos. Much emphasis is placed on the firm’s culture, which results in bringing them together as a family. There is a friendly surrounding which is warm and also exciting that permits each Zapponian to show up and bring about their very best. Informal interactions outside the office have been the result of the numerous company’s most exceptional ideas (Attaran, Attaran & Kirkland, 2019). They work together and play together, and their bonds and thoughts go beyond a typical co-worker association found at most other companies.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, leadership actions play a significant role in building and structuring a firm. A leader should have to exhibit these actions in day to day activity. They have proved to be beneficial to a firm since they create a serene environment with increased communication with departments, employees can accommodate transition; also, the employees are heard, and leaders can hear and learn. This results in the production of good results. Decision making will be easy to make this performance will improve, and the profit margin will rise significantly.
References
Attaran, M., Attaran, S., & Kirkland, D. (2019). The need for the digital workplace: increasing workforce productivity in the information age. International Journal of Enterprise Information Systems (IJEIS), 15(1), 1-23.
Bens, I. (2017). Facilitating with Ease! core skills for facilitators, team leaders, and members, managers, consultants, and trainers. John Wiley & Sons.
Waddock, S., & McIntosh, M. (2017). SEE change: Making the transition to a sustainable enterprise economy. Routledge.
Zappos’ CEO Tony Hsier
Yahaira Flatts
Ashley J. Rivera
MBA-550-Q5894 Leading in an Organization
Southern New Hampshire University
July 17th ,2020
Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh
Leadership actions are crucial in the building and structuring of an organization. The effectiveness of these actions has led to the production of good results, building associations, developing others, and aided in proper decision making. Also, it is the action that the leader and his teams exhibit along with the results they produce that build a great leader’s reputation. It is through these actions that have made the Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh be a great leader. He used different leadership actions to build and structure Zappos, which led to the rise of Zappos from zero profit to multi-billion profit annually and has also improved the firm’s structure.
Leadership actions: Re-thinking hiring policy
In Zappos company, CEO Tony Hsieh utilized many actions to structure and create a productive organization and develop a culture. One was to re-think the hiring policy. When hiring, many leaders go for the right people who have the right credentials, but this alone is not good enough to assure that they are fit for the team. There is a need to also look at the individual qualities as this will help see the value in them in the team for a long time. Tony Hsieh utilized all this in his hiring policy as he needed team members who will share the goals of Zappos and strive hard to attain them. As the CEO of Zappos, he discussed the hiring policy in detail, depicting that the company’s goal was to hire individuals who trusted the company’s long-term vision. Also, they required to feel that the culture of Zappos was right for them to fit in.
Focus on the employees
Nevertheless, Tony Hsieh focuses on his employees first. Most corporates leaders like Tony Hsieh see their employees as their priority. They have found ways to motivate their teams and aid in bringing the best out of them, and this has set the best team culture examples. He has to ace up the sleeve with a good team, as this only reinforces the initial idea about hiring guidelines. It is of importance to let people know how much they are of significance at work. As Tony puts it succinctly, making consumers happy is vital to make sure that employees are happy first. He makes sure that he makes a note of every success they attain and appreciate them for it. He helps them get over something if they have failed by uplifting their spirits. The team members will be happy, and it will be shown in their work, and with their satisfaction, it has proved and ensured the success of Zappos.
Transition
Also, Tony Hsieh initiated a transition in the Zappos company. Initially, the company sold shoes, and they had to modify their brand identity and be a retailer shop for both men and women ”s clothing accessories. He advised his clients by telling them that if they do not face change, then their entire team was going to suffer. It is a natural part of today’s market as its demand is always changing, so it is essential to embrace transition (Waddock & McIntosh, 2017). Tony always encourages leaders to adapt and research their industry and admit that something they have executed is no longer working.
Development of office culture
Moreover, Tony Hsieh created a robust office culture while in Zappos. He strongly trusts in adding personality to an office culture while promoting a feeling of team harmony. By enhancing the company-wide camaraderie, he empowered his employees to take ownership of their role and the firm. This has improved their pride in the company and enhanced their quality of work and commitment (Bens, 2017). Also, Tony Hsieh communicates openly. He believes that transparency and open communication can not only facelift productivity but reengage the teams’ focus. Tony comprehends that transparency is crucial to his firm’s performance, and as a leader, one has to be open and trust his team as this will aid the team to do implementation better. He advocates for the breakdown of communication of barriers.
Self-improvement
Another action he uses is to improve himself daily. It is evident that the core values of Tony Hsieh center around self-improvement. He always develops himself as a leader and encourages his employees to overcome difficulties in better, quicker, and more effective ways. He is curious, always asking “why” query, and he makes sure that he continues to learn. The infrastructure of his firm offers excellent chances and skill creation to his employees to motivate them further. Tony Hsieh’s success is apparent. He has made transition since his joining in Zappos and promoted invention to the point that the retailer went from gaining zero profit to a billion annually. In 2000 it was bought by Amazon for $1.2 billion (Bens, 2017).
Best practices: Listening
There are best practices that leaders tend to exhibit to align their team with the company’s vision. One is listening to power. They listen more than they talk. Always leaders are guided by the phrase “seek first to comprehend the be comprehended.” They tend to listen and comprehend other people’s thoughts and concerns since they are natural connectors. Also, they know the difference between listening and waiting to talk. When talking to them, one gets the impression that they are listening and not waiting and thinking of a way to respond or their perspective. Their capability to listen actively makes people feel heard, respected, and facilitates improved decision-making (Bens, 2017). They listen to learn and be open to transitioning their minds on an issue whenever they obtain new information. Their focus is to do what is best for the firm. Listening is half of the communication equation.
Communication
Another instance of best practices is the increased communication throughout the times of transition. In times of change and uncertainty, leaders always have a natural inclination to communicate with their teams. However, leaders resist that urge and instead raise communications in the periods of transition. Nevertheless, the planning methods utilized by Tony Hsieh are following the firm’s goals and objectives. The workforce is the crucial aspect of planning efficient and profitable productivity, also the need to influence the expertise needed is vital in the firm, (Attaran, Attaran & Kirkland, 2019). The skills given to all the Zappos personnel primarily include the utilization of technology, physical infrastructure, and financial resources. Tony Hsieh raised the operating margins as the guideline to raise employee engagement with adaptable and executable goals and to deliver the visibility up and down the reporting levels in Zappos. Raising the employees’ profiles at all levels increases communication channels, which results in sharing inventive ideas across the firm. Fri with a significant figure of dissatisfied number always has a lower rate of productivity; thus, the workforce’s throughput was reduced. The alignment of the administration is also a technique utilized to ensure that company leaders should develop performance and cultural management in which they will recognize ratings regarding performance for the resources being invested in by the company. The primary goal of the administration alignment is to determine the ailing resources that cost the company huge funds, which can be replaced by new assets.
Consequently, there is an action that has fostered and built teamwork and team development at Zappos. Much emphasis is placed on the firm’s culture, which results in bringing them together as a family. There is a friendly surrounding which is warm and also exciting that permits each Zapponian to show up and bring about their very best. Informal interactions outside the office have been the result of the numerous company’s most exceptional ideas (Attaran, Attaran & Kirkland, 2019). They work together and play together, and their bonds and thoughts go beyond a typical co-worker association found at most other companies.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, leadership actions play a significant role in building and structuring a firm. A leader should have to exhibit these actions in day to day activity. They have proved to be beneficial to a firm since they create a serene environment with increased communication with departments, employees can accommodate transition; also, the employees are heard, and leaders can hear and learn. This results in the production of good results. Decision making will be easy to make this performance will improve, and the profit margin will rise significantly.
References
Attaran, M., Attaran, S., & Kirkland, D. (2019). The need for the digital workplace: increasing workforce productivity in the information age. International Journal of Enterprise Information Systems (IJEIS), 15(1), 1-23.
Bens, I. (2017). Facilitating with Ease! core skills for facilitators, team leaders, and members, managers, consultants, and trainers. John Wiley & Sons.
Waddock, S., & McIntosh, M. (2017). SEE change: Making the transition to a sustainable enterprise economy. Routledge.
